It's good to be King Sam

It's good to have a name like Samuel James King. You can find all kinds of merchandise befitting your royalty.....

 

 These are all the outfits King Sam has had (so far) that have included the word "King".  We have "L is for Little King"; "King of the playpen" (that one was on clearance for $1.78, probably because nobody uses playpens anymore); "several "Mommy's Little King"; "Daddy's Touchdown King"; "King of the Castle"; and lots of "Little King". It is so fun to receive gifts from friends or find something in the store with the word "King" on it. As I was telling my neighbor, "Mommy's Little Aragon" just doesn't sound as cute.

Now how many of your children have monogrammed dishes? A thoughtful friend of mine picked up the button for us, and later I found the bowl. What can I say? Its good to be Sam-I-Am, who is almost 9 months old.

P.S. We are always looking for new apparel for King Sam with his name on it. Keep your eyes open, please!

Rise and Shout!

We had the best time ever Friday night at Lavel Edwards Stadium as we watched the Cougs pounce Utah State. It was the first game Rich and I have been to in a long time, and the first game EVER for Ben and Cassidy.

They LOVED singing the song after each touchdown, loved hearing the band play all the fun songs, and loved being in one place with that many other BYU fans.

I thought I was doing a stellar job of explaining the details of football to Cass, but I could tell I had lost her when she informed me she was going to count and see how many people were in the stands. Outloud. Fortunately, at that exact moment Cosmo appeared on the field and her attention was diverted. Momentarily.

We really had so much fun. The kids were great, even though we had to park about a mile from the stadium and hike in and out. We saw a few friends and neighbors at the game, and even managed to be in the right place at the right time when the BYU players ran onto the field from the locker room. (Ben's jaw dropped, just a little, to be that close to "fame and glory)". I know people around here go all the time to BYU games, but it is a real treat for our family. GO COUGS!

Love my boys

Is it bragging to say I have the 3 most handsome sons in the whole world?
I mean, look at this guy! He's definitely going places....

Did I mention how he loves to eat grass?




And look at this peach of a smile.....(if he reads this post, he will not be happy that I called him handsome or peachsome)



And then there's Garrett......I'm thinking he hates having a wanna-be photographer for a mom. This one is DEFINITELY going in the slide show at his wedding reception. He kind of looks like he just grew on the peach tree, and the weight of his body pulling on the branch is making his eyebrows do that weird thing. Ugh.

Corny, but peachy

Although the title to this post could actually describe many things in my life (my wardrobe, my taste in music), it actually refers to our harvest this year.

We grew corn for the first time ever, and we were actually quite successful. We only had room to plant 4 rows of about 8 plants each, but we yielded about 20 ears. Except for the fact that the kids (well, me too) fought over who got to eat them, it was a good experience. There's something about growing corn that makes you feel like a farmer (corny, I know).

We also grew this peach.....and the peaches she's holding. We have a FABULOUS Lemon Elberta that produces like crazy. We ate all we could, gave away almost half, and still canned 54 quarts. I was really feeling proud of my 54 quarts until 2 friends in my ward told me how they canned over 150 quarts. Over-acheiver peachers.

Attitude

Our smart and talented 5th-grader asked me to help him memorize this quote tonight. He has to recite it in front of the class next week. I was so impressed with the words:

Attitude
by Charles Swindoll

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, then education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes."

I am so inspired to have a better attitude!! ( I have tons of room for improvement).
Thanks, Ben!

I've seen that face before.....

Above, Samuel in 2009.
Below, Garrett in 2005.

Above, Samuel in 2009.
Below, Cassidy in 2003.

Above, Sam in 2009.
Below, Ben in 2000.

Just in case you ever wondered if we brought the wrong baby home from the hospital....
we didn't! We love you Sam, and all your look-a-likes.

Compliments and Candy Pumpkins

Two things made me smile today.



I received two compliments today, two unrelated, unsolicited, genuine compliments.

One for something I do (laundry, of all things, bestowed so kindly by my husband), and one for something I am ( a personality trait that a friend finds endearing--imagine!).

I'm sure the compliment givers aren't still thinking about their casual words. But I am.

Sometimes, ALL THE TIME, it's nice to hear someone say that you are appreciated, loved, liked, admired, and in some small way simply WONDERFUL. What are you waiting for? Call someone and tell them what a good job they do on the laundry! ( or something else that they do good).

The other thing that made me smile.......


I picked up a bag at Smith's today. I just love these little guys. Seriously, they make my mouth so happy! Any other mellowcreme pumpkin addicts out there?